ENTERTAINMENT
Why has Kanye West been sued for racism? What did he say?
Kanye West is being sued for racism and a hostile work environment by a former Yeezy and Donda Academy worker.
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is immersed in a new legal problem. On the morning of Tuesday 2 April, a former employee of Yeezy and Donda Academy, who goes by the name Trevor Phillips, sued the rapper 46 years for discrimination and hostile work environment. The documents were filed before the Superior Court of Los Angeles, California.
Who is Trevor Phillips?
According to legal documents, Trevor Phillips was hired by West in November 2022 to oversee “projects related to the cultivation of cotton” , given that the ‘Closed on Sunday’ singer planned to make Yeezy a sustainable fashion brand. Later, Phillips argues that Ye moved him to work at his private school, Donda Academy, located in southern California.
What did Phillips accuse Kanye West of?
In the lawsuit, Phillips claims that West treated Donda Academy’s African-American employees considerably worse than white employees: “During his tenure, Phillips never witnessed West yell and berate a white person, but on countless occasions he saw and/or personally experienced Kanye frenziedly yell at Black people,” the lawsuit states. In addition, it states that he made anti-Semitic comments in front of the staff of Donda Academy, which caused a hostile work environment.
When questioned in the lawsuit about the rapper’s conduct at his private school, Trevor revealed that West asked the boys to shave their heads, in addition to telling them that he intended to “lock them in cages” and “put a prison in the school ”. Given this, the staff chose to distract the minors, taking them out of the room.
Phillips also claims that West showed nude photos of his sex partners to employees and made Phillips do dangerous electrical work at Donda Academy without any construction experience or permits.
These tantrums occurred, according to Phillips, at the same time as the media controversy, unleashed by his anti-Semitic comments. In fact, the former employee points out that, at that time, he met with the artist at the Nobu Hotel, in Malibu, California, where he made alarming comments about Adolf Hitler, arguing that the Holocaust had been “false” and that, in reality, he had been a “genius and innovator.” West also said things like “the Jews are out to get me” and “the Jews are stealing all my money,” the suit alleges.
“HITLER WAS GREAT. Hitler was an innovator! He invented so many things. He’s the reason we have cars.” Ye said, according to Trevor. He also recalled West saying that “I am going for the Gays! First the Jews, then the Gays. … Gay people are not true Christians. And Gay people are controlled by Bill Gates so that they don’t have children for population control.” The lawsuit has screenshots where West assures that he himself is “at the level of Hitler”, in addition to demonstrate it with homophobic and racist comments. Phillips is seeking damages in excess of $35,000, according to the complaint.